Media captionThe 3D graphics in Iron allow the player to walk around a 19th Century farm

The history of Merthyr Tydfil's role in the industrial revolution is being told to children in a game on mobiles and tablets.

The free mobile app follows the adventures of a 13-year-old boy travelling to the Victorian iron town.

The 3D graphics in the app Iron also allow the player to walk around a 19th Century farm.

The developer believes it will fill a gap in local history knowledge.

"I was already very aware of Merthyr's past from my school days but I can't remember my own children saying they had learnt much about the town at school," said Gareth Cavanagh.

"It was this realisation that you couldn't rely on the curriculum to bring the past of Merthyr to life that got me thinking about a game as a mode of learning through a fun activity."

Mr Cavanagh is a lecturer in games design and owner of Irontown Interactive and the app has been developed with the Centre of Excellence in Mobile Applications and Services (Cemas), which is based at the University of South Wales.

Image copyrightIron AppImage caption
The story follows Lewys, 13, on his journey to Merthyr